DRF/NTRA NHC Qualifier Sat. March 30 at Trackside Villa Park

Trackside Villa Park will be conducting a live-money handicapping contest on Saturday, March 30, where the winner will receive an expense-paid berth into the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship to be held in Las Vegas in January 2014.

All players need to do to participate is purchase a $300 contest wagering card and pay a $50 NTRA entry fee at the registration table and wager on at least one North American Thoroughbred race (because of very early post times Dubai races scheduled for that day will not be eligible in this contest) with a scheduled post time before is 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Registration will begin at 11 a.m. CT and close at 3 p.m. CT.

At the end of the contest, the player who has accumulated the highest bankroll (subject to verification) will be the winner of the DRF/NTRA NHC berth and a $350 travel voucher to be used toward their travel to Las Vegas for the DRF/NTRA NHC. Firstprize is in the 2013 NHC was worth $750,000 with cash prizes paid down to the top 40 finishers. The winner of this contest must be able to travel to Las Vegas for the DRF/NTRA NHC – there is no cash equivalent prize.

The top three finishers of the Trackside Villa Park contest will also be eligible for additional cash prizes based upon their final bankroll.

"We've been visiting with our loyal customers on tour of Trackside OTBs over the last few weeks and they expressed a strong desire to have Trackside host an NHC qualifier. We are happy to be able to give them that opportunity," explained Arlington Park General Manager Tony Petrillo. "A Chicago man took home the big prize at the 2013 NHC, and I'd like nothing more than to see that the winner of one of our contests take home the big prize at the 2014 NHC."

The contest will be organic to a typical day at the track, meaning that players will have the flexibility to wager in more pools (Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, and multi-race wagers such as the Pick 3 and Pick 4) than in most other contests and have freedom to participate from any area within the designated Trackside Off-Track Betting facility as there is no need for assigned contest wagering windows. However, all wagers must be made using the contest card at self-service terminals only. Players may invest winnings into future wagers.

HorsePlayer magazine Midwest correspondent M. Scott McMannis will conduct a handicapping seminar for the March 30 qualifier beginning at 11:30 a.m. and will remain on hand to answer questions throughout the afternoon. For more details, visit the McMannis blog at arlingtonpark.com.

In addition to the March 30 NHC Qualifier, Trackside South Elgin will offer a feeder contest on March 9 where the top three finishers will receive paid berths into the March 30 Trackside Qualifier (worth $350 each). The feeder contest will require a $100 buy in and the winner(s) must use their prize to participate in the March 30 tournament as no cash equivalent prize will be offered.

Rules for the March 9 feeder tournament will be the same as the March 30 final including the exclusion of the Super Saturday races from Dubai as a result of their early post times.